Lemony Carrot and Cauliflower Soup Recipe (2024)

One question: I toasted the coriander seeds and coarsely crushed them with a mortar and pestle. I followed the recipe in detail. The soup was great but we were spitting out the husks (or hulls) of the coriander. Did I do something wrong? Did others have the same experience?

This soup is delightful! I used veg broth instead of water, roasted the cauliflower and carrots rather than cooking in the broth, and added bay leaves and then some scallions at the end. The soup somehow ends up tasting like a bowl of creamy, cheesy cauliflower-cheddar even though there isn't a drop of dairy. Highly recommended!

This is my go-to soup recipe -- I make it weekly. I always use the zest and juice from one full organic lemon, which is a bit more than the recipe calls for. One note: try this with purple cauliflower! When you add the lemon juice (an acid) to the light purple puree (which contains a natural pH indicator) it will leave a distinct reddish/bright pink swirl. The whole soup will then take on the most interesting color. (Might be a good way to get kids to eat their veggies, and help to cook?)

To the editors: I would like it if instead of saying, "1 small (or half of a large) head cauliflower" you would give the weight of cauliflower needed.

Having read the notes, I decided to change the recipe somewhat and it turned out great. As my first step I sautéed onions, celery and some carrots together until soft. Then I added the garlic and a tablespoon of Mark Bittman's curry powder. I let the spices bloom and then added 7 cups of chicken stock with the carrot and cauliflower. I simmered the lot for an hour to bring out favours. I used a immersion blender to puree the soup and left it to cure for 2 days. Definitely a keeper!

Do I have to crush my own coriander seeds or can I use ground coriander? If I can, how much should I add? Thanks!

I adore this recipe! My tips: (1) Coriander seeds are easily burnt and it was hard to hit the sweet spot there. (2) I love the fresh cilantro and put extra in each cup as I served it. Even better when you reheat it after. (3) I added miso after the boiling because I learned long ago that the probiotic benefits of the fermented soy paste are eliminated if it is heated to boiling. But that didn't change the taste I don't think.

Eased the process some and sort of 1.5-ed or doubled this recipe. Roasted 7-8 carrots, whole head of cauliflower, a few Yukon golds, lots of garlic, and big onion first (after dusting them in coriander, s & p) for an hour. No miso, used smoked sweet paprika, and 8 cups veg broth. Cuisinart. Tons of cilantro and an abundance of zest and juice. Wanted to top it with feta or gorg but left it alone - glad I didn't add but still think it'd be great. This soup is a total knockout.

How do you "bloom" coriander?

I used multi-color carrots which made for a stunning soup. The favors all come together in the end with the final lemon juice and rind, cilantro, chili powder, Maldon salt and olive oil, so don't be discouraged as I was if you taste it at the purée stage.

I recommend adding ground up nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, you name it) at the end with the other garnishes. A tablespoon or two on top gives some pleasant texture, and the oils from the nuts add great flavor.

A small potato added to the mix adds a touch of smoothness. A spoonful of diced avocado is a nice garnish.

After reading the notes, I made a few adjustments, blooming the coriander and smoked chili, and adding a bit of turmeric for color and tomato paste for umami; using 2/3 veg stock in place of water; adding a potato to smooth out the puree; and adding the miso at the end so as not to overheat it. It was absolutely delicious garnished with good olive oil, Aleppo pepper and minced cilantro.

I have not made this yet but I imagine that you could sift out the hulls using a fine mesh strainer before adding coriander powder to the pot. That should keep the spice powder and eliminate the hulls.

I use a coffee grinder for spices.

so easy and sooooo good

I made this and it didn't wow me - I think the lemon high note was sort of a strange contrast to the cauliflower.

Followed the recipe to the letter and found the texture and flavor to be fantastic! It’s a simple recipe with few ingredients so be sure to use high quality produce - from your local farmers market or organic if possible. To finish the dish I used Sumac as the pepper/spice, Maldon salt and a premium EVOO that I reserve for dips (not to cook with). Our family devoured the dish and I appreciated how quickly it came together (and in one pot)!

For those struggled with the coriander…. I bought a cheap coffee grinder years ago, and I use it for grinding all of my Indian spices. It creates a much finer powder and you don’t have to worry about the husks. Much better than a mortar and pestle and a lot easier. I agree with some of the fellow cooks that a little bit more lemon goes along way with this recipe. I served it with a squirt of lemon on the top of the soup, along with some smoked paprika, which was excellent.

I followed the recipe using tasty in-season vegetables - I found the result was just average without lemon and lemon juice, but when I added those it became slightly unpleasant. My husband didn’t dislike it but he didn’t particularly like it either. We were both puzzled by the pairing of ingredients but wanted to trust the 5 star system - it was our first NYT recipe, and we love soups.

I wish I would have read the notes before getting everything into the pot..I would have used chicken or vegetable broth...dang it...still in the cooking process, so hope it's as good as 5 star rating...even with water.

I was in a hurry and couldn't find my mortar and pestle, so I made this with ground coriander. I just had the soup for lunch after making it for dinner last night. The flavor really opened and developed in the interim -- if I was making this for guests I would make the day before. This comes together quickly without too many ingredients and was tasty. I will make it again.

Roasted all the vegetables for 35 min at 425. Dumped them in the broth with coriander and soy (no miso in the house), simmered for a few, then blended. Fantastic!

added more spice- chili in the cooking process. Lemon zest and juice is key.

This is YUM! I'm eating it now. I made a couple mods: added 3 ribs of celery and 1 of the 5 carrots to the onion during the sauté phase, red miso instead of white(it's what I had on hand), and used veggie broth instead of water. I can see adding a touch of ginger to this to give it a bit of subtle heat. Very good!

Simple but tasty soup. Can be adapted with more veggies and spices. Will make again!

Delicious! I would suggest just 5 cups of water so it’s a creamy purée. 6 cups makes it kind of watery. The chili, lemon and cilantro make the flavors sing.

No coriander in the house, and not somewhere it's readily available. Used the following substitutions from our pantry: 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp curry powder, and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. Added these with garlic, when onions were soft, and toasted the spices in with the garlic. Nice "warm" spice notes and very very yummy.

Can add one small potato (for smoothness) and reduce water to 4c to start

Very good and pretty easy to make. I recommend more lemon than called for in the recipe.